A Student's Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese (Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 4 China) by Paul W. Kroll (15-Dec-2014) Hardcover

by Paul W. Kroll

A Student’s Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese is the long-desired Chinese – English reference work for all those reading texts dating from the Warring States period through the Tang dynasty. Comprising 8,000+ characters, arranged alphabetically by Pinyin.As a lexicon meant for practical use, it immensely facilitates reading and translating historical, literary, and religious texts dating from approximately 500 BCE to 1000 CE. Being primarily a dictionary of individual characters (zidian 字典) and the words they represent, it also includes an abundance of alliterative and echoic binomes (lianmianci 連綿詞) as well as accurate identifications of hundreds of plants, animals, and assorted technical terms in various fields. It aims to become the English-language resource of choice for all those seeking assistance in reading texts dating from the Warring States period through the Tang dynasty.Previous Chinese-English dictionaries have persistently mixed together without clarification all eras and styles of Chinese. But written Chinese in its 3,000 year history has changed and evolved even more than English has in its mere millennium, with classical and medieval Chinese differing more from modern standard Chinese than the language of Beowulf or even that of Chaucer differs from modern English. This dictionary takes the user straight into the language of early and medieval texts, without the confusion of including meanings that developed only after 1000 CE. An added feature of the dictionary is its identification of meanings that were not developed and attached to individual graphs until the medieval period (approximately 250-1000 CE), setting these off where possible from earlier usages of the same graphs.Those who have, or are acquiring, a basic understanding of classical grammar, whether approaching the language from a background either in modern Chinese or Japanese, will find it eases their labors appreciably and helps to solve countless problems of interpretation. Advanced students will find it to be the one reference work they want always close at hand.The dictionary has an index by “radical” and stroke-number, and contains various appendices, including one with reign-eras and exact accession dates of emperors given according to both Chinese and Western calendars.

Genres: China, Reference

Unknown Binding

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

Paul W. Kroll is Professor Emeritus of Chinese and a distinguished scholar of medieval Chinese literature, language, history, and religion, with a particular focus on the period from the late Han through the Tang dynasty. He earned his PhD from the University of Michigan in 1976 and went on to teach at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1980 to 2019. As the founding chair of the Department of Oriental Languages and Literatures (now Asian Languages and Civilizations), he played a pivotal role in shaping the study of Asian languages at the institution.
A leading figure in the field of Sinology, Kroll has held several editorial positions, including serving as editor for East Asia at the Journal of the American Oriental Society from 1984 to 2010, as well as its general editor and editor of its monograph series from 2000 to 2010. He also edited Tang Studies Journal from 1984 to 2006, was one of three editors of T'oung Pao: International Journal of Sinology from 2009 to 2017, and continues to contribute as an editor to monograph series such as Brill's Handbuch der Orientalistik (China section) and De Gruyter's Library of Chinese Humanities translation series.
His contributions to the field have been widely recognized through numerous grants and fellowships, including multiple ACLS fellowships (1979, 1985, 1996), CU faculty fellowships (1985, 1992, 2000), and a Guggenheim fellowship (2007–08). He has also been honored as President of the American Oriental Society (2006–07), a member of the Institute for Advanced Study (2008–09), and an elected member of the American Philosophical Society (2018).
Kroll's extensive body of work includes books such as Meng Hao-jan (1981), Dharma Bell and Dharani Pillar: Li Po’s Buddhist Inscriptions (2002), Studies in Medieval Taoism and the Poetry of Li Po (2009), and A Student's Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese (2014, revised in 2017 and 2022). He has edited major collections, including Critical Readings on Tang China (2018) and Reading Medieval Chinese Poetry: Text, Context, and Culture (2014), and has contributed over eighty articles and book chapters on medieval Chinese literature and culture, addressing topics such as Daoist poetry, Tang literary criticism, and political and personal fate in early medieval verse.
Throughout his career, Kroll has played an instrumental role in advancing the study of medieval Chinese literature, offering deep insights into the linguistic, poetic, and religious traditions of China’s formative periods. His scholarship continues to shape the field, influencing scholars and students alike.

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary labor of Kroll and highly useful. Don't know what I would do without it. Nothing compares to it in English.